service: offering a drink to others

from my sermon on 2/5/12 from Matthew 10:40-42

"I'm parched." That's what he said. He was standing at the corner where the I-10 frontage road meets DeZavala in San Antonio. It was Thursday morning about 10:40 a.m. I just love how these scripture passages prompt me. I had made it a point to see if I had one of those bags of grace we make up in my car that morning. We put an energy bar, a fruit cup, some gum, and most importantly a water bottle into each ziplock bag. He had the sign, you've seen them, "need help....out of work...anything you can spare." Most of the time I would get another first phrase, but he said, "I'm parched." I could almost hear Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers singing, "All day I face the barren waste without the taste of water....cool water....water." I handed him the bag with the water bottle and asked, "What's your name?" "John," he said. "I'm Lynn. Bless you." "Thanks."

Is it really this simple? Is this what Jesus means when he says, "whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple--truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward." We gave you a water bottle as you entered. Our worship team's intent was to make this passage real. We want you to give it away to one of God's vulnerable ones. As a worship team, we were trying to come up with a label, something to put on the bottle. Our church name and logo was suggested. Someone else said we could write "a gift from God to you." But Diana had the best idea, "Let's just put a blank label on them, and let people write their own message or drawing." I would like for you to do that. You make it up.

Someone on the team asked, "What if people go ahead and drink from the bottle in the worship service?" We thought that would be just fine. You may be the one today who is thirsty, who is parched. The words from Jesus in this passage are about receiving someone where they are, about welcoming them, about being hospitable. You may be thirsty today for attention and affection. For some here, this is the highlight of their week, when they see more people than than they see all the other days combined. Some here may be going through a divorce, or grieving the loss of a loved one, of dealing with an addiction. If you are parched, go ahead and drink from the bottle of water, but know that something even better awaits you here at this table. There is food and drink, body and blood of Christ. You will be met at the point of your greatest need with the depth of Christ's love.

Today is the 5th Sunday in a 6 week series on the Treasures of the Transformed Life. It is about service and witness today: offering a drink to others.

It means literally offering a drink, like to the guy on the corner with a sign. But as followers of Christ, we may be called to do more. The Austin American-Statesman has been running articles on the importance of water lately, especially in light of the drought we have been experiencing (thank God for the rain of this past week, even this morning). We have seen wells dry up, lake levels plummet, and little rain fall. The article today had the startling facts: 97% of the water on earth is salty, brine water, 2.5% is caught in ice, and just .5% is fresh water. I heard that someday soon we may look at watering our lawns as like we are throwing diamonds on the ground. How precious is water! What can we followers of Christ do...to provide a cup of cold water? We may need to xeriscape our lawns, put in aerators in our show heads, capture grey water and re-use it, and capture rainwater off our rooves. What will you do locally?

As Christians, we may need to act globally. Ginghamsburg UMC in Ohio has made an impact where water is concerned. Their pastor, Michael Slaughter, several years ago was moved by the plight of dying persons in the Darfur region of Sudan. He came up with a campaign that said, Christmas Is Not Your Birthday! He said, "I want you to give at least as much to help provide water for the people in Darfur as you spend on Christmas presents." Over the last few years, they have raised millions of dollars. They dug water wells, and built pipelines, taught about sanitation, and taught about hardy crops, and established schools. Oh, most of the people in this region were Muslims. The church didn't go over there and try to convert them. They went over there because they were dying of thirst. They were parched. It took 2-3 years before the people there began to ask, "Who are you? Why are you doing this for us?" It was then after trust had been built that they could say that they were Christians from Ohio. New villages grew up around the safe water stations. One of the larger ones the people named Ohio 2. The water was their witness that they cared.

What is Christ calling you to do, to be in service, to offer a drink to others. We know that this is a metaphor, that it is more than just water. We are called to meet God's vulnerable ones at their point of need. We do this in our work places, schools, neighborhoods, not just at church.

One way for us to realize this mission is to participate in ReThink Church day. Get our your smart phones and dayplanners. For the third year, we will call off morning worship and go out into the world for service. This year on April 22, which just happens to be Earth Day...how appropriate for this water imagery. We will do those service projects like pass out water bottles on the hike and bike trail, sing in a nursing home, help take care of pets at the animal shelter, etc. What will you and your group do?

Here's how you find out what you are to do? Frederick Buechner is one of my favorite theologians and authors. Folks kept asking him about what their vocation should be, what their purpose in life was. He came up with this pithy phrase: your calling is where your greatest passion meets the world's greatest need.

If you give even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, you will not miss your reward. It will be more than a good feeling, more than making difference....your reward will be that you get to meet Jesus. That's the good news I have to share.